Material: Cotton

This small patchwork coverlet is probably a cot cover and has been made by piecing without paper templates. The design has a frame layout, where concentric borders frame a central panel. Squares, strips and triangles have been used to create several different borders including examples of the patterns ‘tree everlasting’ or ‘flying geese’ and saw […]

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This is a commercial sample of a type of fabric known as ‘madras’, which at the time this fabric was produced referred to a lightweight cotton with a woven check. The check could form an all over pattern, as seen in this example, or it could be woven as borders or in stripes with plain […]

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A partnership between Gawthorpe Textiles Collection and Dr Rohini Arora to give an in depth look at two rare and precious examples of embroidery from the Chamba region of India.

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This book comes from Rosebank Mill in Lancashire and dates from 1832. The inside cover features the name Bennet Greig and the name of the mill and the date 25th September 1832. It contains an array of printed dress and furnishing fabrics along with detailed notes about their production. Within the pages are examples of […]

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This book contains mostly printed cotton dress fabrics with a few examples of larger scale prints labelled as ‘furnitures’, which would have been used as household furnishings such as upholstery or curtains. Many of the fabric samples showcase the adoption of innovative new developments in printing technology from the early 19th century. One of the […]

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This book comes from Rosebank Mill in Lancashire and contains samples of mainly dress fabrics. Most of the samples are printed on smooth, evenweave cotton although there is one sample of cotton with a ribbed pile like corduroy. The cover bears the name Thomas Comstive and indicates that the book covers the period “1832 and […]

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In 1982 the Harris received a bequest from a local lady who had recently passed away. Miss Mabel Haythorn (born 1910) lived in an apartment in Frenchwood House in Preston her whole life. We believe she never married and had a private income. In her will, she left the Harris Museum & Art Gallery a […]

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In 1982 the Harris received a bequest from a local lady who had recently passed away. Miss Mabel Haythorn (born 1910) lived in an apartment in Frenchwood House in Preston her whole life. We believe she never married and had a private income. In her will, she left the Harris Museum & Art Gallery a […]

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In 1982 the Harris received a bequest from a local lady who had recently passed away. Miss Mabel Haythorn (born 1910) lived in an apartment in Frenchwood House in Preston her whole life. We believe she never married and had a private income. In her will, she left the Harris Museum & Art Gallery a […]

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These suits acted as a protective layer that would cover visitors own clothing whilst they enjoyed the Fun House at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They take the form of a robust cotton overall in geometric, colour blocked panels in brown, pink, green and yellow. the cuffs have a contrasting yellow button at each wrist and a […]

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A millennium ‘guaranteed wax’ calendar for the year 2000 from the ABC Wax company, which has links to Greater Manchester to this day. The company began with a printworks which opened in Hyde in the early 19th century. In 1908 they began to produce the exact kind of fabric we see here – imitation batik […]

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